Could this have been a speakeasy?

[Manalto]

Here's the test - when you open the door to that room, do you feel the urge to whisper a password?

[phil]

I think building a bar in the basement was a fad of sorts. I could be wrong but I didn't think Canada had prohibition , it was a US idea and a lot of Canadians made profits as rum runners as a result. owning a still was and is illegal in Canada and so maybe some were in that business of making liquor and that would be illegal just as it is now.

I looked at a house when I was house shopping and one had a whole bar setup downstairs. I think they had created a little after hours club. the swinging door wouldn't be helpful in a darkroom but the counters could be useful so he might have just had plastic or something to block the light from that area.

might have been a little bar at one time , just to keep the drinking buddies away from the kids, that sort of thing. a lot of the ones who returned, especially from the navy were pretty hard core alcoholics.

sometimes paint doesn't tell the date but signifies what order things happened in. since the organizer jars are painted red you can assume that's when the red paint was put down so that was probably later, when it became a workshop of sorts I guess. you might look under that color and perhaps see the order of the paint colors when the counter was installed. you might learn more by noting the paint colors on walls etc and by that maybe tell more about the order that things were put in there by the layers and what they did or did not cover, even things like splatter could help you sort out the order that painting took place.

[JacquieJet]

sometimes paint doesn't tell the date but signifies what order things happened in. since the organizer jars are painted red you can assume that's when the red paint was put down so that was probably later, when it became a workshop of sorts I guess. you might look under that color and perhaps see the order of the paint colors when the counter was installed. you might learn more by noting the paint colors on walls etc and by that maybe tell more about the order that things were put in there by the layers and what they did or did not cover, even things like splatter could help you sort out the order that painting took place.

Prohibition in Ontario at least ran until 1927. I think it began in 1918.

Phil, this is an excellent idea!! Thank you!!
Those jars were actually put there by a PO in the 1960’s, and weren’t originally part of the “bar” set up.

I really love your paint idea. Genius!!! Thank you!!!

[phil]

maybe it was the home of a still . many had them. I stand corrected on prohibition. not sure if it ever applied here.

my house had a weird space I never figured out. Looks like someone made two kids bedrooms downstairs, early drywall and paneling. the funny bit was that in one room they made a wall about 4 feet from the outside wall and installed a window in the wall of the bedroom, I guess to let light in from the window on the outside of the house. I finished the outer part as it left a space for my metal lathe so the little chips can't fly all over. later I might pul that wal out but I finsished what I could without emptying the rest of the space since I collect a lot of junque
nothing else down there was finished except cardboard boxes nailed to the studs. I saved the labels from the boxes and they came from a place that sold leather stuff. I wondered if maybe the owners owned the store. I didn't see any coal dust but there sure was a lot of dust in the stud cavities.. I know where the heater was and it had a vent in the hall but dont know if it was coal or what. maybe oil. it has an oil line and tank so maybe that was it or maybe it was wood or coal earlier.

I started a box with any things I found around, kids toys and stuff, nothing great. I found 5 I ' 45 bullets, I assume for a handgun but no gun. looked like they were stashed in the stairwell, maybe so he could run and get loaded if he had a break in or something. The most interesting was a bunch of pictures of movie stars that were o the inside of the drywall. I guess they could be seen int he bedroom at one time. one was a train poster of an indian with full dress on horseback. Its very tattered but Id like to scan it and recreate the missing bits electronically.

I put new drywall and made a point of leaving the rest intact but saved the poster.

it took me a ong time to realize that the concrete floor in the basement is finished nice and has no rocks in it. the original foundation is made from local gravel probably scavenged locally with rocks and stuff so I think it had a dirt floor and at one time they poured the floor. Now im tempted to break it out and dig down a foot because it is only 6' 7" or so , shy of what I need for a suite. that would require underpinning the foundation and probably strengthening up the walls to 2x6 from the 2x4's it has now.. Im a bit scared of taking it on due to all the permits and engineers and whatnot. Many seem to lift them but that's expensive too so I'm just fixing up what exists..

lots of houses here have signs from little grow ops too, from that later prohibition. some were major deals where they rotted walls and stuff but many were just a few plants, often hidden however they could. if you saw anything like an effort to block out light it could also mean that they were trying to keep the bright light from shining through all the cracks and being detected by their neighbors at night. a lot of our old houses had unprotected wiring from that gooseneck on the side of the house to the meter so in many they tied in a free outlet there to avoid the electrical power being detected so if you ever see signs of a grow op it pays to check that wire. Ive seen several where they made shotty connections in that line due to tampering. maybe even just to steal a little power. my brother bought an old house, no sign of a grow op but we discovered that one of the plugs was hooked in before the meter so it had a " free plug"

on anything after a certain date the mains are run in conduit and usually near the meter. old houses were often a target because they could easily get free power.

now its legal in Canada so no need to hide stuff like that unless it is more than 4 plants here but it still varies by province. many still have secret rooms because they are over the limit

[JacquieJet]

[quote="phil”]
it took me a long time to realize that the concrete floor in the basement is finished nice and has no rocks in it. the original foundation is made from local gravel probably scavenged locally with rocks and stuff so I think it had a dirt floor and at one time they poured the floor. Now im tempted to break it out and dig down a foot because it is only 6' 7" or so , shy of what I need for a suite. that would require underpinning the foundation and probably strengthening up the walls to 2x6 from the 2x4's it has now.. Im a bit scared of taking it on due to all the permits and engineers and whatnot. Many seem to lift them but that's expensive too so I'm just fixing up what exists.[/quote]

It’s interesting that you mention this, because we have some carpenter ant damage in the basement and will be addressing it in the early spring, at which time we might waterproof the basement as well. I think we also originally had a dirt floor, as the concrete under the basement stairs only goes so far and it’s dirt after that. The concrete seems to be only an inch or two thick. We also have a low basement ceiling, probably like 6’5 or so (and lower in some areas with piping and whatnot). I haven’t got any official quotes, but I’d imagine lowering the basement floor (or jacking up the house) would be outrageously expensive. Sure would be nice though. I wish I knew someone who has done it so I could pick their brain!

[Nicholas]

Jackie my wife’s family live in North Bay, you know, maybe a few miles south of mr and mrs Claus. The houses aren’t that old but both have very nice bars in the basement rec rooms.

[JacquieJet]

Jackie my wife’s family live in North Bay, you know, maybe a few miles south of mr and mrs Claus. The houses aren’t that old but both have very nice bars in the basement rec rooms.

Oh Nicholas! North Bay isn’t THAT far north!!! Haha!!

I kind of want to turn it that area into a wine cellar/bar anyway. Regardless of the actual use originally, it’s a great spot for it!